Edison Denisov: biography, wife and creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The outstanding composer Edison Denisov represented the avant-garde movement in Russian music of the 20th century. His path to music was not quite typical, but a bright gift allowed him to reach incredible heights in creativity. His life path is of interest as an example of love for his work and selfless service to Art.

Childhood

April 6, 1929, a boy appeared in the family of a Tomsk engineer, who was named Edison (Denisov). The biography of the child began quite typical for that time, and nothing but an unusual name foreshadowed, it seemed, an outstanding fate. Edison's parents were far from music: his father is a radio physicist involved in establishing television broadcasting in Tomsk, and his mother is a phthisiatrician. Their son, up to a certain age, was no different from other children, studied well at school, achieved special success in the study of mathematics and physics, he was also good at a foreign language. The family lived very modestly, in a hostel, where Edison's main meeting with music took place. Their neighbor played the mandolin that captivated the boyhis sound, and thus began his new life.

The path to music

From the age of 15, Edison Denisov begins to take mandolin lessons from a neighbor, then tries to play the clarinet and, with the help of a self-instruction manual, masters the guitar. He increasingly sees his future in music, but at the age of 16 there are few opportunities to start his education. He comes to general musical education courses at a secondary school, where he receives the basics of musical literacy, overcoming significant difficulties. He did not have an instrument, so he had to study in the evenings in kindergarten. While Denisov does not feel the strength to make music his profession. Therefore, after graduating from school, he enters the Tomsk State University for a mekhmat. His success in mathematics was quite convincing, Denisov became close to a professor who scientifically substantiated the connection between mathematics and creativity and culture. But the music does not let Edison go, and he simultaneously enters the music school at the piano department. At this time, he discovers his ability to write music and plunges headlong into this activity.

Shostakovich's blessing

The future composer begins his journey with simple, imitative works. But in the period from 1947 to 1949, he wrote a series of preludes for the piano, at the school they began to appreciate him very highly. And in order to get reliable information about the level of his talent, Edison Denisov decides to send some of his opuses to Shostakovich for review. The great composer, surprisingly enough, not only gets acquainted with student compositions, but also writes a completely laudatory review, he encourages the student and says that he has a clear composing talent that needs to be developed. This inspires the young musician, and he begins to compose with even greater zeal.

It is interesting that Shostakovich would play his part in Denisov's life again later. In 1956, he will give him a recommendation to join the Union of Composers.

Years of study

On the advice of Shostakovich, Denisov decides to enter the conservatory, it did not work out for him the first time, but he achieves his goal and ends up in the class of Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin, who was a powerful composer and gifted teacher. During his studies, Denisov demonstrates great diligence and an outstanding musical gift. His graduation works - the first act of the opera "Ivan the Soldier", a symphony for orchestra and a cycle of nocturnes - received the highest marks from the examination committee. After graduating from the conservatory with honors, Denisov enters graduate school, achieving the highest qualification in his profession.

Music Life

At the beginning of his journey, the composer Edison Denisov was strongly influenced by Shostakovich, whom he became friends with during his studies at the conservatory. He also studies the works of I. Stravinsky, K. Debussy, B. Bartok and other composers, trying to discover their secret of creativity. Since the beginning of the 60s, Denisov's own style has been developing. The first work that reflected the emergence of an original composer was the cantata "The Sun of the Incas". The avant-garde sound of the work immediately attracted the attention of not only musicians, but also the authorities. They tried to ban the public performance of the cantata, and only the efforts of G. Rozhdestvensky and the Leningrad Philharmonic allowed listeners to get acquainted with Denisov's work. A year later, the cantata was heard in France and Germany, which brought the composer international fame and a reason for even greater dislike on the part of the Soviet authorities.

Since 1959, Denisov has been teaching instrumentation and later composition at the conservatory; many later well-known composers studied in his classes. In 1979, Denisov's works were severely criticized by T. Khrennikov, and the composer was blacklisted, which greatly complicates his life.

Since the mid-80s, Edison Denisov's biography has been changing, the authorities have become more favorable to him, he is even appointed one of the leaders of the Union of Composers, he actively works in cinema and theater, writes major works.

In 1990, with a group of like-minded people, he recreated the Contemporary Music Association, which existed at the beginning of the 20th century. The group included advanced composers of that time: D. Smirnov, E. Firsova, V. Tarnopolsky and others. Denisov outlined his experience and thoughts in the book "Modern Music and the Problems of the Evolution of Composer Technique".

Until the 90s, Denisov's life was not easy, he was not allowed to work, he was persecuted. And only perestroika gave himthe opportunity to calmly cooperate with foreign colleagues, earn money with performances and master classes. Since the mid-1990s, he has traveled the world a lot, working in France, he has been invited to the jury of the most prestigious festivals and competitions. Abroad, the premieres of new works by Edison Denisov are held with great success: "Requiem", "Foam of Days", a concerto for viola.

Special musical vision

The genre diversity of Edison Denisov's legacy is quite large. He tries himself in opera (the famous "Foam of Days" earned him world fame), and in ballet (writes "Confession"), and in work on major works (the oratorio "The Life and Death of Jesus Christ", the opera-oratorio "The Resurrection of Lazarus”), writes concertos for a variety of instruments and symphonies. He also deals with reconstruction and orchestration. Edison Denisov deservedly received the title of avant-garde artist, he always searched in the form of a musical work, boldly combining the principles of sonorism, serialism, aleatorics and developing the ideas of French impressionism.

Community music activities

Denisov Edison Vasilievich was not only an outstanding musician, but also an interesting person. He was president of the Contemporary Music Association, which is dedicated to finding new beauty. The organization arranges concerts of Russian composers abroad, and is also engaged in educational activities, presenting the creations of foreign composers to the domestic public. The composer himself actively promoted the new Russian art, lectured at many European musical educational institutions. He also worked withlike-minded organization of music festivals. In the last years of his life, he worked in Paris at the IRKAM Institute, which is engaged in the study and search for new acoustic possibilities. ASM continues to exist and work fruitfully even after the death of Edison Vasilyevich, his comrades-in-arms remember him and continue the work he started.

Main merits and achievements

Edison Denisov is not very spoiled for official recognition in Russia. He became the People's Artist of the Russian Federation in 1995 and has not received any more awards in his homeland. In France, he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Paris, and for services to the culture of France and the world, Edison Denisov was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.

Private life

Creative people often find it difficult to arrange their personal lives. But, of course, there are exceptions, such as Edison Denisov. The wife for the composer, according to him, should be a friend and a safe haven. Therefore, he chose women to create a family from among his midst. The first wife, musicologist Galina Grigoryeva, gave birth to a son and a daughter to the musician and went through the difficult years of his formation with him.

The second wife of Edison Denisov - Ekaterina Kuprovskaya-Denisova - also a musicologist, was 37 years younger than the composer. She also bore him two children and was with him until the very end. After the death of her husband, she published the book "My husband is Edison Denisov" and began to work on his creative legacy.

The composer's life ended on November 24, 1996 in Paris, after two years of serious illness.